San Francisco:

Nisheet and I decided that we needed a break from Chicago and Independence Day was coming up, so we decided to visit my dad while he was working in San Francisco. It was interesting to be back in that area since I had an internship in Menlo Park several years ago. I got to go back to some of my old hangouts (such as a gelato shop in Palo Alto) and new places too.

The first full day we were there, we took Caltrain from San Francisco down through Silicon Valley. Our first stop was Sunnyvale, and I made Nisheet walk to my old apartment that I shared with 3 other girls for a summer while we interned at a nearby company. I’m not exactly sure why I wanted to see it, but it brought back lots of great memories. The next stop was Palo Alto. This is probably my favorite little city in the valley. On one side of the tracks is Stanford which is an absolute must see. It is a great university to stroll around. And, on summer nights they sometimes show old movies outside. On the other side of the tracks is a cute little street with shops and restaurants. My favorite is a little gelato shop that is off on a side street, so we definitely had to stop there. We also had lunch at a little hippie place where we tried tofu fries. They might sound weird, but they were quite tasty!

On Saturday, my dad went with us on a tour of Napa Valley. This was by far my favorite part of the trip. We booked a tour so we didn’t have to drive, and this ended up be a really smart idea! We were tipsy after the first stop! The shuttle met us at The Embarcadero which has lots little shops. This was great because we had gotten up early and hadn’t had a chance to eat yet, so we were able to grab a bagel and coffee before the tour started. We didn’t want to start drinking on an empty stomach! A shuttle and tour guide took us to several very different wineries and talked about Napa and the area in general between the stops. We had tastings at each winery, of course, and at one we had a small picnic lunch of cheeses, breads, and fruit outside. While we were sitting there, we got to see the wine train go past. It looked really nice, but I think we picked the right tour for us. I’m not sure they get to experience as much of Napa as we did. Instead of taking the shuttle back to San Francisco at the end of the day, we boarded a ferry and took in some great views. It should be noted that there are also bike tours, but they looked a little wobbly riding down the road. So, it might be a better idea to stick to the shuttle or train tours!

Sunday was the 4th of July, and since we wanted to watch the fireworks over the bay, we decided to stick around the city. We packed everything in. We took a cable car ride, walked part way across the Golden Gate Bridge, ate dim sum in China Town, visited the touristy Fisherman’s Warf, toured Alcatraz, and ate dinner at In and Out Burger. Let me tell you, that is a lot to cram into one day, but it can be done if you are serious about it.

The Golden Gate Bridge is a pretty cool bridge and is gorgeous on sunny days. Unfortunately, it was a little foggy/cloudy which is typical of San Francisco, so you couldn’t see the top of the bridge. It was also very cold and windy to walk across, but since Nisheet had never been, we made it about half way before turning around. He loved it!

Dim sum is a must in China town. I love Chinese food, and it is even more fun when they push the little carts around filled with food. We lucked out and were seated near the kitchen door, so we always got first dibs! Unfortunately, I can’t recall the name of the particular place we ate, but there are so many great places that I’m sure you can’t go wrong if you are trying to find one.

Alcatraz is also a must do. Even though I had vacationed in San Francisco before and interned in the area, I had never been. You get to take a ferry from San Francisco to the island which offers some really fantastic picture taking. Once we got to the island we got an audio tour and walked through the prison. The audio tour was neat because some of the officers and prisoners were actually recorded for it. We got to hear about solitary confinement, the conditions in the prison, what food they were served, and of course, the escapes! I’m always baffled at how the prisoners could actually escape from the island. Getting out of the prison is one thing, but getting across the frigid waters to the mainland is completely different. We took a tour during the day, and I was a little bit disappointed that it didn’t feel creepy at all. Maybe next time I’ll talk Nisheet into the night tour!

After Alcatraz, we were starving, so we decided to hit up In-N-Out Burger. We usually try to avoid chain restaurants when we are on vacation, but they don’t have this chain in the Midwest, so we made an exception. We got the burgers “animal style” and they were so delicious. My mouth is salivating just writing about them. And the fries were equally as good smothered in cheese and special sauce. Yum! It is probably a good thing I can’t get these burgers all the time or I’d be huge!

After dinner, we walked around and enjoyed people watching while waiting for fireworks. Let me tell you, the San Francisco fireworks display was completely different from any other 4th of July fireworks than I had ever experience. And, I think Nisheet feels the same way. First of all, it was cold! We brought warmish clothing knowing that San Fran can be chilly even in the summer, but we were still cold. So we bought jackets. That wasn’t enough, so we also bought a blanket (the last one on the shelf!), and hot chocolate, and the three of us squished in together along the seats and tried to keep warm while waiting for the show to begin. The actual firework show was also rather different because of all the fog and low clouds. The fireworks went above the clouds, and from our vantage point, all you could see is the clouds lighting up in different colors. Pretty cool for a onetime event, but definitely not how I want to enjoy my fireworks every year!

Monday was our last day in California and my dad had to go back to work, so Nisheet and I rented a car and drove down to see the boardwalk at Santa Cruz. This was another of my favorite places to come while I was an intern out here, so I wanted to go back. Just the drive itself is worth the whole trip. Gorgeous scenery and fun curvy roads! Before heading to the boardwalk, we drove around Santa Cruz and looked at all the stereotypical Californian houses and ended up at a small little surfing beach. There were so many surfers crowded into such a tiny area that I’m not sure how they kept from bumping into each other. It was really neat to watch since I don’t get to see people surfing very often. We then drove to the boardwalk and people watched, ate carnival food, sat on the beach, and soaked in the atmosphere. We didn’t actually get on any of the rides, but it was still fun.